Product liability refers to instances in which individuals are injured by defects or faults in products. These defects could occur in either the design or manufacturing phase of a product’s lifestyle, but if a consumer is injured by a product, they could file a product liability lawsuit. However, if the statute of limitations for such a case expires, then your chances of filing a successful claim will dramatically reduce.
Because product liability falls under the personal injury area of legal practice, it is affected by the personal injury statute of limitations. As this article states, the statute of limitations for injury to person in Massachusetts is three years. This means that if you are injured by a defective product, you have three years to file a claim. If you do not file a claim within this time, there is a strong chance that your case will be dismissed outright.
Even though the time limit for the statute of limitations is very clear, the beginning of that timeline is a bit more ambiguous. The clock for the statute of limitations generally does not begin ticking until the injured party should have reasonably been able to determine that they were injured by the product. Depending on your injury, you may not realize that you were injured for a good long while.
Even if you are afraid that the statute of limitations for your injury has expired, it is still in your best interests to meet with an attorney. An attorney who has experience with product liability injuries may be able to look at your case from a different angle or prove that you could not have reasonably detected the injury immediately. You do not have to pay for an injury that was someone else’s fault.
